Help
Support
How to set your watch, what to try when it does not sync, and how to reach us.
Setting a watch or clock
- Open Signal Setter and choose the city your watch is set to (its home city). The app picks the station.
- Turn the phone's volume all the way up. The app will not start below full volume.
- Put the watch or clock into its receive mode. Most have a button or menu for a manual reception; many clocks also try right after the battery goes back in. Check its manual.
- Hold the phone's bottom speaker against the watch's antenna, often on the 9 o'clock or the 12 o'clock side of a watch, along the top of a clock. Tap Start and keep both still.
- Most watches set themselves within 3 to 10 minutes and show their reception mark.
If it does not sync
| Try | Why |
|---|---|
| Another side of the watch | The antenna position varies by model. Give each side a few minutes. |
| The suggested other station | Some watches set to a city listen for a different station (for example DCF77 or MSF for London). The main screen offers it under the station. |
| Away from chargers, laptops and TVs | They drown out the very weak signal. |
| Wired earphones | Some watches pick it up better from an earbud resting on the watch. Do not wear them while it plays. |
| Not Bluetooth | Bluetooth audio rarely carries the signal. |
Some watches never pick the signal up this way; reception depends on the model.
Watches from Japan used abroad
Watches sold in Japan that only receive JJY show whatever time the signal carries. Choose Tokyo, then turn on Send my local time: the signal carries the time where you are and the watch shows local time.
Time accuracy
The app asks a public time server (time.apple.com, or pool.ntp.org as a backup) for the time and shows how far your phone's clock was off. The signal corrects for it, and each minute of the code starts exactly on the minute. Without a connection the phone's own clock is used and the app says so.
Safety
The tone is high-pitched and plays at full volume. Keep the phone away from your ears.
Contact: kl@fireinbelly.com. Include your iPhone model, iOS version, your watch or clock's station or model if you know it, and what the app showed.